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It Was Ugly…But It’s a Dolphins Win….But Boy, Was it Ugly

Originally posted on Dolphins Talk | By Mike Oliva | Last updated Oct 6, 2024 7:29 PM ET

It Was Ugly…But It’s a DolphinsWin….But Boy, Was it Ugly

I didn’t think they could win a game without Tua, but they did.

I have a funny feeling that New England may be the only team Miami can win without Tua Tagovailoa right now.

Miami is a bad football team; New England is worse.

The Patriots had 12 penalties for over 100 yards, and heading into their final drive of the game, they averaged 2.4 yards per pass. Jacoby Brissett has as much mobility as a Cigar Shop Wooden Indian.

The Dolphins played the one team worse than them, and it was a struggle, but they got a victory

Why was it a struggle?

Well, New England averaged 7.9 yards per rushing attempt vs Miami. The Dolphins couldn’t tackle anyone on Sunday.

The Patriots (with an offensive line worse than Miami’s) gashed them and created huge holes for Antonio Gibson and Rhamondre Stevenson to run through.

Gibson averaged 8.7 Yards per Rush

Stevenson averaged 7.4 Yards per Rush.

We are talking about Gibson and Stevenson here, not exactly Marcus Allen and Bo Jackson on the Los Angeles Raiders in the early 90s.

Then there was Miami’s horrible special teams performance. The Dolphins had a punt blocked, a missed field goal, and a bad snap on another field goal attempt. Yes, all in one game!

Both teams tried to hand the other team this game; neither wanted it. Miami lucked into it.

And I know some Dolphins fans are out there saying, “But we are only one game out of first place, and Tua is coming back, and Bradley Chubb is coming back. Watch out; it’s not over. We can make a run.”

Bless your heart.

I truly mean that. I love the optimism, but the Dolphins haven’t played a full and complete game all season, and Tua’s return won’t change that.

Heck, in the game and a half Tua played this year, he looked really bad.

Tua isn’t going to fix your special teams

Tua isn’t going to help your defense tackle.

Tua isn’t going to cause receivers not to drop the ball.

Tua isn’t going to help the offensive line block.

And we know Tua won’t help Mike McDaniel call a game better.

This Dolphins team has a lot of problems. Yes, they won today. Celebrate the win. Don’t ignore the issues.

And understand that Tua isn’t “magic fairy dust” that makes all of these other problems go away.

Tua is like putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound. It will help some, but the problems with this team go far beyond Tua.

When all is said and done, they got a win today. But don’t ignore that it was an ugly performance by this football team.